Timmy and the Dragon
by WriterKos
Summary: Once upon a time there was a little boy who met a Dragon in his backyard… and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Part of my Meddling with affairs of dragons series. AU - Pre-series
1. Going to play ball

**Title: Timmy and the Dragon**  
Author: WriterKos  
Rating: FR13  
Parings: None whatsoever  
Characters: McGee, OCs galore  
Genres: Supernatural, Pre-series  
Warnings: NONE  
**Summary**: Once upon a time there was a little boy who met a Dragon in his backyard… and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Part of my Meddling with affairs of dragons series.

a/n: Sondheimmcgeek wrote on a review that she loved the interaction between McGee and the female Green Alpha Kismet. And that _Timmy and the dragon_ sounded like a nice title for a fairy tale, and that someone should write it. Well, here is my take on it.

**_Chapter 1: Going out to play_**

"Mommy, can I play with my ball?" Little Timmy asks his mother, Laura McGee, who is looking at whatever is boiling in her pot on the fire.

"Sure sweetheart, but don't go far away. Stay in the field where I can see you, and if it starts raining, run back home, ok? There were some freaky storms lately and I don't want you caught up in one of them."

Little Timmy looks down at his Spiderman ball and bites the tip of his tongue, staring at the amazing hero throwing his super strong web out of his wrist.

"Mommy, what is a flaky storm?" he looks up with limpid green eyes, and his mother smiles down at her dear son, who is so beautiful and also so smart, always asking questions.

"I didn't say flaky storm, I said freaky storm. A freaky storm is one that comes out of nowhere, without explanation."

"Do storms explain themselves when they have to come?"

Laura's laughter filled the air, as she again was surprised by the intelligence of her sweet little boy, who was growing up to be a very curious child indeed.

"So many questions, Timmy. Go play, kiddo, and come back before the sunset."

"Ok Mommy."

The little kid holds his plastic Spiderman ball firmly in his little hands, and runs on chubby legs out of the kitchen towards the backyard. From there, he keeps running towards a big open field in the back of his house, and starts playing with his ball, completely unaware of the whispering voices floating over the breeze.

It is a beautiful day with bright blue skies without a single cloud as far as the eye could see. A faint breeze moves the branches on the trees, the leaves whistling a soft sound that completed the melody sung by the birds chattering excitedly in their nests. It was spring, and life had fulfilled its budding promise and new buds of flowers, grass, herbs were sprinting from the fertile soil, bringing life to what once had been silent and dead during winter.

The little boy throws the ball up to the sky, laughing when it soon falls down back into his chubby hands. His small feet leave tiny footprints on the fresh worked soil, bringing forth the scent of the earth up to his nostrils. He throws the ball again up, and is surprised when it bumps into his head and goes to his left, away from his hands.

He runs towards the ball, and looses his balance when the ground under his feet shakes for some reason, as if an earthquake is happening somewhere close by, or as if a dinosaur is walking over the land.

Once on the ground, with his tiny fists digging into the fresh soil, he looks up to the sky with his bright green eyes, and sees clouds forming a strange circling pattern, as a vortex.

He lifts a hand to shelter his eyes, trying to see what that strange cloud could be.


	2. Flaky storms

_**Chapter 2: Flaky storms**_

"Raijin, I dare you to match my skills in battle, you old fart!" smiles the Golden beta Indra as she flies above the Blue beta Raijin, taunting him as she has done since she was just a little hatchling.

"Do not pester me with your musings, little one, as I am old and weary, and it would be a disgrace for you and for your clan if I would win over you without any effort of my part," rumbles the powerful voice of the Old Blue beta, as they fly over the fields of the countryside doing disguising themselves from the eyes from the humans dwelling down on the ground.

"Ah, come on, you trained me in all sorts of techniques, and lately not even Berach wants to practice with me. Suddenly he is all important and mighty, as he now has a mate to look after. I need exercise!" moans the young Golden, circling the Blue in the air, flying as a little butterfly, full of nervous energy.

The old Blue laughs softly, as the Golden flies nervously before him. Since Indra and Berach had been hatched by the Deirbhile branch of the Golden clan, they had been attacked by the endless energy that only hatchlings are able to have, exploring and experimenting the world with all curiosity young creatures can do. As their flight path leads them over some human dwellings and finally some green area full of trees, the old Blue beta relents.

"Ok, little one, let's use those trees over there, I want to see how much you have practiced what I've spent so many years of my existence teaching you."

"YYeeesss" shouts the young Golden, flying as a missile towards the trees indicated by the Blue male.

The two dragons fly and softly land in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes by all sides. The fresh smell of soil, coming from the worked land a few yards away filled the air, at the same time the noises of the birds noisily chattering continued despite the interruption of the two mythical beings interrupting their afternoon time. The Blue one raises its head and does a simple scanning of the area they are and, not finding any creature that might interfere with their exercises, turns to his pupil.

"Ok, first I want to see how you are dealing with your strength control. I want you to do this…" The Blue and Golden dragons join their heads and start talking in soft tones, invoking the power of the earth and of the skies, building up energy to an exercise.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Little Timmy stares at the strange cloud that came out of nowhere, swirling in a bright blue sky. He feels scared, and in an instinctive reaction puts his thumb inside of his mouth, seeking comfort in the old habit that his mother insists that he shouldn't do it. He is a big boy now, no need to suck his thumb. But in times like this, it always feels good to do it again.

He looks down and walks slowly towards his ball, takes his thumb out of his mouth and hugs it against his chest. He starts walking back towards his home, as this should be the flaky storms his mother warned him about.

Why didn't the storm explain that it was coming?

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Now, feel the power of the thunder, gather it in the air and order it to seek you," the Blue male says, watching his pupil staring with concentration to the ball of light glowing in her hand.

She frowns as the power becomes too much for her to control. The lightening starts losing its controlled form, spilling out and hitting the trees and everything around the two dragons.

"Control it, Indra!"

"I can't, it's too much!"

Raijin takes a step forward, but his pupil is engulfed into lightening, and the skies, once blue, now are darkened by a swirling vortex cloud, witness of the power Indra tried to manipulate but wasn't able to control.

"Indra!"

"Raijin, help me!"

Raijin unfurls his wings and closes his eyes, trying to absorb in himself some of the sizzling energy in the forest. He feels the simmering signature of a creature that their initial scanning of the area both dragons had not seen.

"Nooo"

Just as he screams, Indra can't hold the power into herself anymore, discharging all of it into the atmosphere, which answers with thunder and lightning, winds so strong that the birds immediately silence themselves and desperately seek shelter from it.

The trees crack under the strain of the wind, and a small living creature that was in an open field is struck in the back by a huge discharge.

"NO."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The rain pours restlessly over the shivering little boy, his ball some feet away, just a mangled mess of smelted plastic. He can't move, as his muscles are paralyzed in pain, and despite the cold wind and rain falling over his body, he feels as his body is in fire, as his synapses are trying in vain to restore its pathways destroyed by the huge electrical discharge that ran through his very little body.

Timmy blinks, trying to get the rain out of his eyes, but his eyes keep watering. He tries to lift his hand to clean his face, but his arms don't answer his commands, and his teeth start chattering uncontrollably.

Huge shadows lean over him, and he blinks at them, one blue and another golden.

"Did I kill him?" says a quivering voice, sounding very young and scared.

The blue shadow leans forward, and Timmy tries to move but he can't, such is his pain. Huge blue eyes, with slits in it, stare down at Timmy, who stares back and shivers nonstop.

"No, but he might still die if we do not interfere," a deep resonating voice speaks, and Timmy's shivering intensifies as he stares into the cobalt eyes staring into him.

"I want.. want … my mommy..." Timmy says blinking away his tears, silently begging for help from the strange Blue creature hovering over him.

"You want your mommy? I shall seek her out, and bring her to you, little one. Now, let me heal you first." The blue shadow moves, and Timmy stares at the clawlike fingers being stretched towards his head.

After that, there was only darkness.


	3. Mr Dragon can you please return my ball

_**Chapter 3: Mr. Dragon, can you please return my ball**_

"Timmy!" shouts Laura McGee, looking for her little boy who is nowhere to be seen. She had warned him to come back home, as the smallest sign of rain, but that stubborn kid didn't listen to her.

"Timmy!"

She walks towards the field, trying to be overheard over wind and the big rain drops slamming into the ground and pounding over the rooftops, its clattering noise working as a blanket over all sounds.

Laura walks towards the trees, her heart beating quickly in her chest. For the last ten minutes, since the rain started pounding on the rooftops of the McGee's home, she looked worriedly out through the window, waiting for the figure of her little boy to return home. But no sign of him anywhere, and somehow her Mommy radar had gone haywire a couple of minutes ago.

It was as if a deep resonating voice was whispering in her ear to go out and look for her little boy. After only a minute with that worry in her chest, she took a raincoat and went out, running to the field to see if he is anywhere on sight.

"Timmy!"

She looks around at the field, the fresh worked soil being pounded by the pouring rain, and suddenly freezes as she sees a small figure laying a few yards away, the bright little red coat not moving under the freezing rain.  
_**  
"Timmy!" **_

Her heart constricts with fear, as her feet guide her blindly to the place where her little boy lies on the ground. She kneels beside him and immediately starts looking for wounds, any hint of the reason why he is unconscious.

"Come on, baby, talk to me."

She molds his small face in her hands and, not getting any response, she starts running her fingers all over him. She frowns as she finds that his jacket is destroyed in the back, so is his t-shirt, leaving pale white skin naked to the elements. It is as if the cloth was burned, but there is no mark on the skin underneath, just a small irritated patch of skin on the back of his neck but, besides that, there is nothing wrong with her boy.

Not finding anything else, she gathers her little six year old in her arms, and runs back to her home, struggling against the wind and the rain, completely unaware of the two pairs of eyes that observed her from behind the tree line.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Little Timmy stayed bedridden with a persistent cold for a week. Laura hovered and was a typical mother hen during the period, constantly checking if he had taken his medicines or if he was in any kind of discomfort. The doctors were a little bit baffled with something else though: there were two distinct fresh healed marks on his back, just the faint outline of a first degree burn, but Laura insisted that her son had never gotten burnt on his back. Those marks were a perfect match to the destroyed t-shirt and jacket which seemed to have melted under very high temperatures.

They could not explain where it came from or how it had happened. They prescribed a baby ointment and that's all, just to avoid any irritation on the skin.

After his forced bed rest, Timmy started playing outside the house again, but he was a little bit weary of thunderstorms. At the minimum sign of rain, he ran back into the house and refused to leave.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

A couple of weeks later, the weather finally calmed down, and Timmy went to the field with an older neighbor kid named Harry. They were going to play in the field close to the trees. After some minutes playing and laughing, Harry kicked with all his strength the ball, which flew over Timmy's head and landed somewhere in the middle of the trees.

Harry ran towards Timmy, who kept staring at the tree line with trepidation. Harry glances at Timmy who bites his lower lip as he glances at Harry.

"Go get the ball, Timmy."

"Don't wanna. There's big scary monsters in there."

"You're a baby. I knew you were. Now we can't play anymore 'cause you're too baby to go there get the ball."

"I'm not."

"Are too."

"I'm not."

"Are too."

"I'll prove you I'm not."

Timmy hits his right foot with determination on the grass, in a small temper tantrum, and starts marching towards the tree line, all the time hearing Harry calling him a baby.

"The big monster will get ya!"

"Will not."

"Will too."

Timmy stares daggers at his playmate, now more a nuisance than a friend. He approaches the tree line with trepidation, and walks around a tall bush. Now, the air seems cooler and humid, as the trees retain humidity and the sunlight can't cross the thick boughs which act as a huge cover.

He keeps walking with careful steps until the shouts of Harry are nothing more than a whisper, somewhere far away on his back. He looks around the small woods, and shivers a little as an owl sings on his right, startling him. He stares at the bird. The bird stares at him right back.

He takes his eyes out of the owl, starting to walk further into the woods. He looks around and he can't see the ball. He sniffles a little, his allergies playing out with the pollen in the air. There is a faint slit of light falling into the closed wood, illuminating a small clearing. After the clearing, several bushes connected to each other made a green mass he wouldn't be able to cross anyway.

He scratches his elbow, taking two more steps until he is in the middle of the clearing, and stares at the bushes, which are faintly moving in the light breeze.

The incessant chattering of the birds take a pause for a moment, as they are holding their breaths to see what is going to happen.

Timmy feels a light burning on the scar on the back of his neck, and he lifts his hand and scratches it distractedly for a moment.

He blinks, and decides to be bold.

"Mr. Dragon, can you please return my ball?"

First there was silence, only broken by the whisper of the wind on the leaves. The birds sighed, and slowly started chattering again, filling the woods with their happy songs. Timmy looks around the clearing, and then at the bush again.

"Mr. Dragon, can you please return my ball?"

Nothing happens for a minute, then finally Timmy's ball rolls from behind the bush all the way to his feet. The little boy looks at the ball and leans to collect it in his chubby hands, and holds it firmly against his chest.

"Thanks Mr. Dragon. See you tomorrow."

Little Timmy turns around and walks back to the field, where Harry's smirk easily disappears when he sees the little boy with the ball firmly in his hand.

"How did you find it?"

Little Timmy shrugs, and looks back at the woods and waves with his chubby hand goodbye.

"The dragon gave it back to me."

"No way."

"Way."

The older boy stares at the little one, holding the ball, then at the woods than the kids in the neighborhood whispered that was cursed with monsters living in it. All little kids believed it, and this little kid was saying there really was dragon in there.

"You're a liar. There's no such things as dragons. My dad told me so. You are a liar, and I don't want to play anymore with you."

Harry hits his shoulder on Timmy's shoulder, making the little boy drop his precious ball. He ignores the sad look on Timmy's face, and goes marching to his own house in the end of the street.

"You're a liar!"

"I'M NOT!" shouts Timmy. "It was the dragon!"

The little boy sniffles again, as his allergies are acting up again on his little nose. He wipes his runny nose on the sleeve of his jumper, walks to his ball, gets it on his hand and walks towards his house, not once looking back at the woods, where cobalt eyes observe him from its hiding place.


	4. How to befriend a dragon

_**Chapter 4: How to befriend a dragon**_

After Harry called Timmy a liar, just because he insisted that there was a dragon in the woods, Timmy became a loner, as all the other boys in the street didn't want to play with the little boy anymore.

Kids can be mean on purpose, and Harry spread the story that Timmy was a liar, being a big baby and all.

Laura had noticed that her little boy became a little bit withdrawn, not willing to play outside with the other boys, who for some reason started to taunt him. But she imagined it was just because he was feeling just a little bit under the weather.

Just to cheer him up, she bought him some collectible toys that were just out, and the little boy was very happy with the brand G.I. Joe soldiers she got just for him. He would play for hours with the Cobra and his minions being overcome by the amazing soldiers, with their fancy toys and superior intelligence.

After all, the heroes always win.

One sunny day a couple of weeks later, when the days started to become shorter and the nights longer, and the breeze of the wind started to carry in it the chill of the upcoming winter, Laura encouraged the little boy to play outside, as soon the darkness of winter would cover the land, and he would be stuck in the house for a long time.

He left the house with a pout, carrying in his little Spiderman backpack several of his brand new little friends, Mr. Cobra and his minions and several G.I. Joe soldiers, and walked all the way to the field. Some of the boys of the street were playing ball down the block, but he ignored them and walked towards the field, where the bushes were softly moving against the fresh wind.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

He walks to the small clearing, and sits on the dirt. He looks around it, and sees that the bushes still have some leaves, now in the brown and red colors of autumn and the noisy birds from before are still chattering, talking about the upcoming winter.

He hears a sound of something moving on the floor, looks to the origin of the sound and smiles delighted when he sees a chipmunk, its cheeks bloated with seeds, standing on its rear legs and staring at him. He opens his backpack and gets some roasted peanuts from the snacks his mother gave him, and puts them on the floor close to the curious animal, then turns around and sits again on the dirt.

He waits patiently, as the chipmunk looks at him and down at the offer of free food. It moves its head from one side to the other, sniffing the air and considering its options. Finally, with caution, it moves towards the nuts, stops, sniffs the air again, looking for predators. It stares at Timmy with big brown eyes for a minute, then rushes towards the roasted peanuts pile the boy left on the floor, and starts stuffing them in its mouth, its cheeks inflating like a water balloon.

Once its cheeks are completely full, it glances at the little boy for a while, then runs back into the forest, taking in its cheeks the precious offer. Timmy stares at the chipmunk until it jumps on a tree trunk, and starts climbing all the way to the top, disappearing from view.

The boy smiles, and opens his little backpack, and starts taking his toys out. He hears something moving behind the bushes, glances back at it for a moment, then returns his attention to his toys.

"Hello, Mr. Dragon. Do you want to have some nuts too?"

The bushes move on the wind, but no answer comes.

"There's plenty of them, mommy always makes me carry some with me, because she says that I have to snack healthy stuff, but it's always good to share," he says without lifting his eyes from his toys, and using the brave soldier to attack the evil Cobra.

There is the noise of a branch breaking, then a huge sound as if a whole tree is being moved in the forest. A sinuous dark blue body emerges from its hiding place behind the bushes, moving the branches and leaves that were its hiding place out of the way, and leans towards the little boy, who doesn't even flinch nor look at the source of noise.

"How did you know I was here, little one?" a deep resonating voice sounds from somewhere over Timmy's right shoulder. He bites his lower lip, and uses the brand new weapon of the soldier to shoot down Cobra, who falls to the floor.

Good again has prevailed, and the bad guys lost.

"Your tail."

A silence follows that answer, and the creature looks at the offending member confused.

"Your body blends with the bushes, but your tail is always showing."

An astonished silence follows the boy's declaration, and soon a deep resounding chuckle sounds in the woods, as the creature realizes that, in its efforts to hide its presence from the small human child, it left a strategic part of its gigantic body exposed.

"Very well, little one, you outsmarted me. In many centuries, no creature, either mortal or immortal, had accomplished what you have just done."

The little boy shrugs, and turns to look over his head, and sees a huge scary beast, with deep blue scales covering its body. Its wings were furled over its back, and its head looked like an alligator, but with furry thorns on top of its head. The eyes, deep cobalt eyes, look down at the boy with intelligence behind its slit irises; but, for some reason, Timmy doesn't feel any fear of it, despite of its intimidating appearance.

"What is _out… out…smated_?"

"Outsmarted?" The blue dragon moves from its position, and walks towards the center of clearing, its head hovering over the little boy and finally standing before him with all its draconian glory, obliterating the faint sun that shone through the boughs of the trees in that late Autumn day.

Yet, the little boy's curiosity overruled any fear he might feel at that moment.

"It means to beat or defeat an opponent by a skillful maneuver; through cleverness and wit. I bow to your intelligent observation skills. Many have entered these woods seeking what inhabits its shadows, but none have accomplished what you've done so far."

The little boy lowers his eyes to his toys again, and asks softly.

"What is _accom… accom_…"

"To accomplish is the word you seek, and it means to succeed in doing something."

The little boy frowns and keeps playing with his toys. He glances at the pile of nuts he left for the chipmunk, then remembers his initial offer to the dragon. He takes some of the roasted nuts on his little chubby palm, and offers the delicious snack to the beast standing before him.

"Do you want some nuts?"

The dragon leans its head towards the little boy's hand, and with a huge paw with claws delicately collects some nuts from his palm, bringing the roasted delicacy to its mouth.

"I thank you for your offer," it munches the nuts staring down at the small human child, curious at is apparent bravery with a creature of his world.

"You're welcome."

"Why are you not afraid of me?"

"Because I know you're not a bad guy like Cobra," he shows his action figure in ninja clothes, "because you helped me when the storm hurt me and brought my mommy to me, like you promised you would."

The dragon straightens its back out, and stares at the little boy.

"You remember."

A silent nod was the little boy's answer.

"I apologize for the incident that led you to stay home sick, but I assure you that you will not be afflicted by any side effects from my pupil's actions."

"Thanks," Timmy mutters, hitting his G.I. Joe on the floor repeatedly, making him run after Cobra.

The dragon looks around the clearing, and frowns as notices that the little boy is alone, again, while there are several other kids playing tag down the road.

"Why do you seek loneliness when there are others of your clan engaging in exercise just a couple of yards away?"

The little boy shrugs, and says in a sad voice, "They don't wanna play with me."

"Why?"

"Because Harry told them that I saw a Dragon, and he told them that I lied. Now the kids don't wanna play with me."

The dragon frowns, and looks towards the direction where the kids are playing, their voices carrying in the woods.

"I apologize if the knowledge of my existence led you to be an outcast."

The little boy frowns. There comes another word he doesn't understand. _Why there had to be so many words?_

"What is an _out_…"

"_Outcast_ is one who has been excluded from a society or system he, by rights, belongs to."

"Ahhhhh…"

The boy and the dragon stay in silence for some minutes. The old dragon studies how the little mortal child, so young when compared to his many centuries, organized his toys on the floor and invented new activities for his heroes.

"Mr. Dragon, what is…"

"_Timmy!"_ they hear Laura's voice carrying in the wind, calling out for her little boy for dinner time already.

"Mommy is calling me."

He stands up, and starts to carefully pack each of his toys inside of his backpack. Once he looks around and sees that none is forgotten, he looks up at the big blue dragon who is looking down at him silently.

"_Timmy!"_

"Are you going to be here tomorrow, Mr. Dragon?"

"_Timmy!"_

"I'll be here."

"See you tomorrow then, Mr. Dragon."

The little boy gets his little Spiderman backpack and starts walking towards the field, where his mother is calling out for him.

"_Timmy!"_ Laura is starting to worry, as she can't see the little boy anywhere.

"See you tomorrow, little one," says the dragon softly, as he watches the little boy walking to his mother, who runs towards him as soon as she sees him emerging from the tree line. She hugs him, talks sternly at him and finally hugs him, kissing his ash blond head. She offers her hand to him, and both mother and child walk towards their house, under the careful watch of two deep cobalt eyes.


	5. Going fishing

_**Chapter 5: Going fishing**_

Little Timmy got a fishing rod from his father on his seventh birthday. He was so happy and proud that he finally got his father's permission to go fishing alone, that he spent a whole afternoon digging in the backyard for very fat wiggly earthworms so he could go fishing in the small pond two blocks from his house the next day.

The other silly kids changed their attitude towards Timmy after their bikes appeared with their tires curiously melted. The cops came and left with no explanation how the rubber, overnight, melted and left just the bikes carcass in its place during a cool autumn evening. They first imagined that it had been a prank from other kids, also victims of bullying, but nothing was proved in the end.

But Timmy still preferred to hang out on his own, either with his mommy or with his GI Joes. He packed the glass with all the wiggling worms in his Spiderman backpack, put a bottle of water along with three GI Joes.

One can never have too many GI Joes. The Cobras are everywhere. One must be always protected.

He kissed his mommy goodbye and told her where he would fish, grabbed his rain jacket and left, his fishing rod firmly gripped in his hand.

He walked by Jordan's house, intent on inviting his new friend to go fishing, but Jordan's mother told him that his friend had been naughty, so he was grounded until Saturday. No playing outside or fishing for him.

Poor Jordan. He should be a good boy.

He left his friend's doorsteps and kept walking down the road, until he reached a small wooden area. Just turning to the right, a couple of yards ahead, there was a very dark pond. Some children said that it was haunted with monsters, others said that it was the place where the witch who lived on Maple street would throw the carcasses of the bad children she had for dinner every Wednesday night.

But Timmy knew better and wasn't afraid of what he might find.

He reached the edge of the pond, his red AllStar tennis shoes dipping on the fresh moist earth. He glanced around and saw some round stones a couple of feet to the left, so he went towards them. If he sat on top of that big white stone, which looked like the skull of a pirate, he could let his fishing rod hang over the water and he would not get wet.

Timmy walked stubbornly towards the stone, his feet dipping deeply as he heard a noise coming from the water. He stopped and turned towards it, seeing some bubbles floating up right in the middle of the pond.

Timmy frowned at it and leaned his head to the side, then he smiled as he recognized the dark blue shadow swimming underneath the water towards the surface.

"Hello, Mr. Dragon. Enjoying a swim?"

"Yes, indeed," said Raijin, bringing its big blue head out of the water, keeping the rest of it inside. "This part of the woods is very quiet at this time of the year. One old dragon like myself can enjoy the quiet without fear of being spotted."

"Do you wish to be alone?" Timmy pouted, looking sadly at his fishing rod, which he had yet to use.

Raijin sensed the sadness which had come over the young mortal child and shook his head, "No, little one. Your presence is most welcome. However, if you indeed wish to accomplish something, you must seek a body of water richer in life. In my swim, I've found very little that might bite your bait. It will be a useless endeavor."

Timmy looked at the dragon, then at his fishing rod, then back at the dragon, the personification of confusion. "What is …en… ende…"

"Endeavor is a task at hand. In your case," Raijin lifted its torso from the water, stretching its magnificent cobalt wings so the droplets of water could run towards its back, refreshing his scales "Fishing. But there is no fish in this pond, regardless of how good is the bait you might offer to the waters."

"Oh…" Timmy lowered his chin to his chest, his fat lower lip pouting and trembling. "Daddy gave me the fishing rod… and there's no fish." He sniffed before turning his back to the pond, already planning to return home. "I didn't want to fish anyway."

Raijin frowned at the boy, noticing the lie he was telling himself was just making him more sad. He thought a little about the subject and opened a small toothy grin.

"If fish is what you seek, I know a place…"

Timmy stopped and looked back at the blue dragon, his enthusiasm returning immediately. "You do?"

"Yes, there's plenty of fish and game. There's even a waterfall with limpid waters where dragons and elves usually swim. Fairies inhabit those woods, so they keep mortals away from it, afraid that they might pollute it with beer bottles or plastic wrappings. But if I took you there, you could fish there as long as you ask permission from the water sprites. They are kind of possessive of the beings living under their command."

"Oh, but how could I go there?"

"I could take you?"

"Could you?" The little boy's enthusiasm was endearing.

"Indeed. But that will be our secret."

"Cross my heart. I won't tell anyone." Timmy smiled at the dragon, who chuckled at the child's vow.


	6. A name is given

_**Chapter 6: A name is given**_

Raijin stretched his hand, opening its claws and silently asking for the boy to climb on it. The little boy looked around for a moment before crawling into the gigantic hand, which carried him delicately to the junction of its neck and body.

"Is it far away?" The little boy hugged the dragon's neck, being surprised by the texture and temperature of it. Instead of dry and cold, it was warm and firm, but not hard. He could almost feel the blood pumping in the veins beneath the thick skin. "I've gotta come back for dinner."

"Don't worry, little one," Raijin opened his wings, preparing for the flight. "We'll be there in a blink of an eye."

With a little impulse, the huge blue body was in the air, its majestic wings beating softly in the air. Timmy giggled and held on firmly, looking down at the houses becoming smaller and smaller as the dragon climbed up to the clouds. People went on their everyday lives, none of them looking at the boy riding a dragon a few yards over their heads.

"Aren't they going to see us?"

"Very few mortals are granted the chance of seeing my kind. No, they won't see us."

They flew in silence until they reached a valley surrounded by green, which seemed untouched by man and his destructive nature. Raijin flew in circles over a very limpid blue lake, before graciously landing on its shore. As soon as he stopped, several water sprites who were lying on rocks in the middle of the lake jumped into the water, trying to hide themselves from the intruder's eyes.

Raijin delicately took little Tim from his back and deposited him on the ground, noticing his curiosity at this secluded place. His fishing rod forgotten in his hand, the little boy slowly walked towards an amazing flowered bush, its purple bells floating in the air.

He froze when a small pale face with purple eyes and lips came out of the bush, looking at him as curious as he was looking back at it.

"Raijin, why did you bring a mortal here? You know the rules." The fairy jumped out of the bush, her diaphanous wings beating nervously on the air, as she looked confused at the old dragon.

"He's a dragonfriend, Laurel. He won't betray our secret." Raijin lowered his head and took a good sip on the water, sighing at its purity.

Laurel blinked her purple eyes and turned to look at the little boy, who was smiling at her fascinated. She smiled back, noticing how cute the boy was. She approached him, towering over the little boy, smirking when she noticed no fear on his face.

"What's your name, mortal?"

"I'm Timmy. What is your name, ma'am?"

A gurgling of water and giggles was heard, making both fairy and mortal boy look to the waters, where several young water sprites were observing the exchange curiously. Only their heads were above water. Their green/blues skins mixed with the liquid, turning them almost invisible, if not for their glorious long hair floating graciously behind them.

"Cute and polite. That's a killer combination. Where did you find such a precious jewel, Raijin?" Pat, one of the sprites said, her long whitish hair carefully braided over her shoulder.

"He found me, actually. He went to the woods and saw me despite my camouflage." Raijin lay on the floor, his head resting on his front paws.

"Really?" Laurel looked speculatively at the young boy, who was looking at the sprites with a fascinated smile on his face.

Taz, another one of the sprites, her green skin and hair shining with tiny sparkles, swam closer to the edge of the lake and smiled at the little boy.

"What do you seek, Timmy?"

"Ahh…" He looked down at the fishing rod in his hand, finally remembering why he flew with Mr. Dragon for this amazing place. "I would to like fish. My dad gave me this fishing rod but Mr. Dragon said the pond where I was gonna fish had nothing in there, then he told me he could bring me here. But I should ask first so you don't get mad at me."

The sprites exchanged looks between themselves, silently considering his request. A blue skinned sprite swam forward, her green hair falling in waves around her face.

"What would you do with the fish you would take from our waters?"

Timmy considered her question before answering, "If it was big, I would take home so mommy could cook it and she would know what a big boy I am. If it was small, return it to the water as it should have the chance for growing big."

The sprites started chattering and suddenly disappeared beneath the waters, as if they were never there.

Timmy got sad, thinking he had insulted them.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Laurel looked at the young child and smiled, knowing the mischievous workings of the minds of the sprites.

"No. Just wait and see, boy."

The water started to bubble, as if it was boiling or something. Finally, Timmy started giggling as he saw many big fishes of different colors and sizes swimming close to the surface of the water, while the water sprites swam around them herding them much like a sheepdog herding sheep.

"I think it means that they are okay with you fishing here, right little one?" Raijin said, one of his eyes closed and the other open, enjoying the little boy's enthusiasm at the wealth of life that occupies the lake.

Several hours later, Timmy was sitting on Raijin's head, his fishing rod firmly in his grasp as Raijin stretched his head over the water for the little boy to fish. He had been able to catch three good sized ones and he was now just enjoying the end of the afternoon. Sometimes, he would simply throw some earthworms just to see the fish fight for them.

Laurel approached the big blue dragon and smiled at the picture the mortal and the dragon made.

"Raijin, Timmy, come here," She had something in her hands, a small herbal and flower garland twisted with the purple flowers of the bush Timmy had found her in when he arrived.

Raijin slowly brought the little boy to the shore, depositing him before the purple fairy.

She glanced at the sprites who swam to the shore to see what she was about to do, then to the old dragon, who had been a good friend for millennia.

"It's very rare that a mortal is able to see us and even rarer for said mortal to be granted the gift of friendship from us. You have done both. So I would like to bestow upon you a souvenir of your time with us, as your memory of this day will fade, but the effects of it on your life will last forever."

The little boy glanced up at the fairy, fascinated at her purple hair floating in the breeze.

Laurel approached him and gently put the garland over his head, the herbs and flowers falling around his chubby face.

"Raijin called you Dragonfriend, for standing by his side unafraid of his power and might. We, the sprites and fairies of the valley, will call you Elflord, as you breezed into our valley and demanded our attention with your kindness and curiosity, ruling over us with a gentle hand through out this afternoon."

Timmy looked up, trying to see his crown of flowers and failing miserably, bringing laughter to the sprites who were all watching the scene.

"Isn't he adorable?" Teri, one of the sprites, said.

"Pity he is mortal," said Sherry, sighing out loud.

"Hey, weren't you dating that guy, the Wizard from Oz?" Miri asked.

"Nah, he was too green for me." Sherry's answer brought gales of laughter to the other sprites.

"I wish he would remember us," Collen murmured, blinking her green eyes at the same time she twisted a curl of bluish hair in her fingers.

Raijin stood up, realizing that the afternoon was almost over and it was time to return little Timmy home.

"We have to depart, young ladies. Thanks for the pleasurable evening."

"It was our pleasure, Raijin. You and Elflord are welcome in our waters whenever you wish to visit."

Raijin helped Timmy onto his back, carefully packing the catch of the afternoon fishing.

"Good bye, young ladies."

"Good bye, you old fart," said Laurel, just to duck when Raijin mockingly slashed his wing over her head, bringing a strong wind over the purple fairy.

Timmy kept one of his heads firmly over his herb and flower crown, not wanting to lose it on the flight back home.

The dragon and the boy took flight, going back to the small human settlement where Timmy lived. The boy would frequently touch his small flower crown, his face scrunched with worry.

"Anything bothering you, young Timmy?"

"Yes, Mr. Dragon."

"Ask away," Raijin turned to the side to get out of the flight path of a formation of Canadian geese flying in front of them.

"What is bestow?"

The rumbling laughter of the dragon was heard from East to the West.

- THE END -


End file.
